The Queensland Film Festival, Static Vision and Palace Cinemas are proud to present the Australian premiere of Travis Wilkerson’s documentary Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?, followed by the Sydney premiere of James Benning’s landscape film L. Cohen – one night only, 7pm March 26th, exclusively at Palace Central.
Facebook Event can be found here.
Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? | Travis Wilkerson | USA | 90′
Shot in gorgeous black-and-white and narrated by the filmmaker in his expressive, characteristic voice, the film relates the story of Travis Wilkerson’s white supremacist great-grandfather S.E. Branch who shot and killed Bill Spann, a black man. Wilkerson’s great-grandfather was never charged with the crime, while his victim was almost forgotten.
Set in lower Alabama, the filmmaker encounters obstacle after obstacle when he starts his investigative documentary murder mystery. He’s accused of bringing shame upon the family, shaking up old trouble nobody wants. The ghosts are real in Alabama, and the film establishes a parallel narrative line with Robert Mulligan’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). “This isn’t a white savior story. This is a white nightmare story”, announces the filmmaker in the beginning of the film and he will make us not forget it. (IFFR)
“It’s hard to experience Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? and not get shivers up your spine.” – Bilge Ebiri, The Village Voice
“One of the strongest works at a chilling Sundance Film Festival. Wilkerson doesn’t offer an answer. But raising the question — at this moment when families are torn apart by what they believe America is and should be — is more than enough.” – Amy Taubin, Artforum
L. COHEN | James Benning | USA | 45′
“Shot in a barren Oregon field, the film’s fixed camera presents us with the deceptively simple: canary-coloured jerry can, twin tires, some rusty barrels, abandoned agricultural machinery, a plain of green grass and overgrown hay, and faint, portentous details in the distance…Regenerative, contemplative, profoundly moving, and as challenging as it is soothing, Benning’s minimalist tour de force should be compulsory viewing for fidgety, restless minds. A long-time proponent of “looking and listening,” Benning captures the ordinary in nature and reveals the extraordinary within, while paying homage to one of Canada’s most beloved artists.” – Andréa Picard
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15+ – This film is restricted to patrons 15 years and older, unless accompanied by an adult.